


an awfully big adventure

by foragirllikeyou



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Pan AU, Peter!13, Wendy!Yaz, loosely based on Peter Pan 2003
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foragirllikeyou/pseuds/foragirllikeyou
Summary: Growing up is hard for some children and even harder for others. Yasmin Khan doesn't want to grow up just yet. She would much rather continue to share stories with Sonya. In trying to help her younger sister keep the sweet ignorance of youth, she discovers a new friend. This new friend might be the answer to all of her problems.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	an awfully big adventure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sheregenerated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheregenerated/gifts), [not_joli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_joli/gifts).



> allow me to introduce Thirteen as Peyton Pan!
> 
> thank you to @jolivira and @sheregenerated for inspiring this!

Twelve year old Yasmin Khan found that the most fun she had was when she told her little sister stories. Sonya, who was younger than her by about three years, loved the stories just as much as Yasmin loved telling them. Every night before bedtime, Yasmin would tell her tales of pirates, fairies, mermaids, and other creatures of the like. The stories were as vivid and imaginative as possible, almost always including the two sisters. Other times Yasmin would share stories of princesses, princes, and knights galore. All to show her sister a world away from their own.

Before bed, in their shared bedroom was where the stage was set. Their beds the vehicles of creativity. The two would dance around, pretending to galavant through forests and sail on oceans, or waltz at balls with the persons of their choice, and sometimes even take part in fights between pirates.

As it turned out, tonight Yasmin had gotten a total of two and a half stories in. Soon enough, Mrs. Khan, known to Mr. Khan as Najia, walked into the children’s bedroom. “It’s time to go to bed, loves.” Najia crossed the floor to the pair of beds that sat, albeit awkwardly, against the walls. The whole room formed a square that had been cut off on one of the corners. The beds sat adjacent to the walls just before the non-corner. It worked out for the beds, allowing room for each of their night stands. Nevermind the setup of the bedroom, a warm smile was painted on Najia’s face as she got closer to her beloved children. Nightly, she would put the pair to bed, reminding them of the real world and that children often need to sleep.

“Mother, please! Not yet, we haven’t finished the story!” Sonya cried. “Tell her Yaz,” Only a few people called Yasmin ‘Yaz’ as that was not proper. ‘Yaz’ was a nickname Sonya had come up with when she was much smaller, it was easier to say just the one syllable. Yet it was allowed for the most part, only being corrected upon occasion when certain people were in the vicinity or when in a particular setting. The younger child leaped from her bed onto Yaz’s. She thrust forth her arm out into the room, as if she was on a ship pointing out land ahead of them. “I need to know how it ends!” she pleaded to both her mother and her sister.

Yasmin walked over to her bed, and scooped Sonya into her arms. Spinning around, she placed her carefully on her own bed. “Tomorrow,” she promised her younger sister.

Their mother nodded gratefully at Yaz. “Thank you, Yasmin.” Najia sat on the edge of Sonya’s bed, tucking her in. “It’s time for sleep and sweet dreams darling.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You might get a chance to dream an adventure all on your own,” she said with an encouraging smile.

A newfound sense of determination found its way in Sonya. With a big yawn sleepiness also washed over her, she tried to blink it away, the playtime adrenaline passing. With all that was left of her energy she focused on dreaming a fantastical dream. She quickly grabbed hold of her teddy bear. The ears had been worn down from being held by them tucked between her fingers. 

Najia removed herself from the small mattress and turned over to Yaz’s bed to find her already in it. She smiled an endearing smile. 

Yaz caught sight of it briefly, a detail that had been likened to one upon her own face, something called ‘a kiss’ which Yaz had always found odd. No matter how much Yaz looked, she never saw it on purpose and not once had she seen it on her own face. The so-called ‘kiss’ was something usually hidden upon the corner of her mother's mouth, or maybe a dimple, or maybe the way that the corner of her mouth turned up ever so slightly; perhaps just a falter in the facade showing the slightest remembrance of the long forgotten purity of childhood dreams. Nevertheless, Yaz detested the ‘kiss’ as she had been told it was a sign of maturity, she was growing older and would soon have to leave behind the childish wonders of youth. So, as expected Yaz decided not to listen to the sentiments, she would stay young, and oblivious. Yaz would continue to create the wondrous worlds of pretend for herself and her sister. Maybe mother could ignore the fantasies of her childhood, only the occasional memory flickering, but not Yaz. Not ever.

“Sweet dreams, dear.” She pressed a kiss on Yaz’s hairline, a nurturing hand pressing her hair back out of the way. Then lifted the glass from around the candle holder on the bedside table and blew out the small flame. She patted her daughter's leg before standing and going to the doorway. “I love you both,” she said as she shut the door.

Whispering, Yaz said, “Night, Mum.” She waited a moment, to make sure everything was quiet, and that Sonya wouldn’t be disrupted. Then Yaz turned over in her bed. She reached for the matches under her bed, pulling one out and relighting the candle. She pulled a book from under her pillow and hid herself under the comforter to read. Yaz adjusted everything carefully, to ensure nothing would catch fire and that she could read her book properly. Most of her nights were spent like this, she’d spend hours reading under the covers, she never wanted to run out of stories to tell her younger sister.

Normally, Sonya fell asleep very quickly. All of the jumping and playing the two sisters did while Yaz told stories tired her out really easily. Najia didn’t always approve of the subject matter, but it made her job of putting them to bed that much easier so she allowed it. An added plus, the children were happy, which was one of the few things she wanted in life.

Once Yaz got everything settled and started getting invested in the story she was met with something pulling on her blanket. It tugged lightly at first. Yaz startled, and closed the book. She pretended to be going to sleep for real this time. Then another tug came. She peered out from under the blanket. It was Sonya.

“I can’t sleep.” Sonya had a pout on her face. One that was asking something of Yaz. “Would you  _ please _ finish the story Yaz?” she begged.

Yaz nodded softly. When Sonya asked like that, how could she ever say no? Pushing the blanket off of her, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up. Yaz offered a hand to her younger sister.  Sonya took her hand, allowed Yaz to guide her back into bed, and made room for Yaz to sit beside her. “Alright, so we left off where?” Yaz asked, seeing if Sonya had been paying attention before. 

Sonya jumped into the story once again. “We left off where the healer came in!” she almost shouted.

“Shh, don’t want Mum to be mad, do we?” Yaz urged, unable to contain her laughter from her sister's excitement. It delighted her to know that they had something to share that made them both incredibly happy. “So, the healer brought in the special flower...” 

Yaz continued telling the story, using her hands for emphasis, the ceiling was a backdrop for them to imagine the scene playing out in their heads. Once she finished up, Yaz looked down at Sonya to see her fast asleep with her fingers rubbing the bear's ear for comfort. She smiled at her, then removed herself from the bed. 

Suddenly, a shadow flew across the window.

Yaz rushed to it, looking through the glass, in an attempt to find anything on the other side. Yaz swore she could see a star shooting across the sky. So many times had she tried to catch the sight of one. Tonight must have been a very peculiar night. She quietly opened the window and looked up at the sky, but the light was gone.  A strange thudding noise had Yaz stick her head out to find the source. The cool night air struck her, the startling sharpness of it brought rosiness to her cheeks and to the tip of her nose. Nevertheless, she shrugged it off, keeping her goal in mind. She looked down at the street that was a floor away, nothing, then she looked up towards the roof, again, nothing.

With a sigh she shut the window, regretting that she had not made her wish in time. 

\-----

Yaz and Sonya carried on for the next few days. Yaz wrote ideas she had for some of her own stories in her journal, ensuring to lock it away in the bottom drawer of her dresser afterwards. Sonya and her just continued, having fun, until one night when Mr. Khan came to tell the children ‘Goodnight’; which was something he almost never did. 

Mr. Khan, was referred to as ‘Father’ by the children; to his colleagues, he would be Mr. Khan; his wife and his mother were the only times his first name were to be used, ‘Hakim’ was saved for them only. The only exception was one that was very rare, when there was an event that was informal or more social in nature.

“Girls, have you seen my watch? I seem to have misplace—” Mr. Khan entered the bedroom just as Sonya was in the middle of fake stabbing Yaz in the belly with a mock toy sword. Yaz fell back onto her bed playing dead. “No! No! Stop this at once, I will not have  _ my  _ daughters playing this way.” He barged his way further into their room. 

His tone scared them both. They both seemed to shrink into themselves. It wasn’t often that their father was upset, but when he was the children knew that they had done something wrong.

Yaz sat up on the bed. “But father we were only—”

“It is not  _ proper _ ,” Mr. Khan cut off Yaz’s attempt at an excuse. He straightened his hair with his hand. Then he softened his voice. “Sonya, go wash up,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself down. “Now,” he urged.

Hanging her head, Sonya reluctantly stood and exited the room. She thought her father's demand seemed pointless as she had already gotten clean for the evening.

Grabbing a chair from the corner of the room, Mr. Khan placed it near Yaz’s bed before he began talking. “Yasmin,” he started. “You’re getting older, too old for these childish games.” He looked up to see the sadness building behind Yaz’s eyes. “I’m sorry, love. I know you and your sister have fun, but I’m just trying to look out for you; I know it’s hard enough in school as is. You don’t need to add this to it.” He took an emphatic pause. “Then what’ll happen to Sonya? How will the two of you ever find husbands?” 

Mr. Khan stretched an arm out and pulled Yaz into a hug. It was obvious that he was worried for his daughter's future wellbeing. Yet, it still seemed more so for his sake. This was just the best way he knew to comfort his children, this was normally Najia’s job to kiss boo boos and use soft comforting language to soothe them. He was typically in charge of discipline and lecturing.

Yaz kept her eyes on the duvet trying to push away the sad thoughts that had been brought up by her father. The tears welled up behind her eyes anyway. She figured he might be right, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Yaz didn’t want to worry about such things yet. It weren’t favorable, she already had to deal with mean kids at school, she just wanted to make sure that not one person would treat Sonya in any similar fashion, and to keep her from discovering how harsh other kids can be at such a young age. 

Before she knew it Sonya came back into the room and Mr. Khan stood up. He quickly gave Sonya a kiss on the top of her head before saying, “Goodnight, children,” while glancing an apologetic look at Yaz, and exited the room, shutting the door carefully.

Quietly, Yaz settled herself in bed. Then she noticed her little sister was looking at her. “You alright, Son?” 

There was no answer, at least verbal. Sonya just got up on Yaz’s bed and hugged her sister. Yaz accepted the comfort and wrapped her arms around her sister. “I love you, Yaz,” she said into a mess of brown hair. “I don’t want your stories to stop,”

“Me neither, duck,” Yaz pulled back. “Time for bed,” Yaz waited for Sonya to get off the bed before she tucked Sonya in herself. She gave Sonya a hug, retrieved the loved bear and gave it to her. Then she put herself in bed. 

“No more story?”

“Maybe another time.” She smiled as she blew out the candle next to her. It took some time but soon Sonya’s breathing became heavier, seemingly sleeping and hopefully dreaming. 

Yaz on the other hand couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t been able to finish their story from before, and couldn’t make herself read another one or write one down in her journal. Growing restless, she couldn’t stop herself. Yaz got up out of bed and went to the window, opening it. She stared out at the nighttime sky. The twinkling stars calmed her as she saw the whites and pale yellows fading in and out. Yaz sighed a deep sigh, then something flashed out of the corner of her eye. There it was again, some sort of shooting star. Yaz closed her eyes tight and made a wish before it was gone.

Upon opening them she was met with nothing in front of her. Not that she was really expecting anything, just hoping for something. But that didn’t stop the disappointment. 

Removing herself from the window, Yaz waltzed away from it, letting it remain open. Then she heard it. The sound of a voice. A startled kind of noise. She spun around, eyes widening as she saw what was at the window. There was a child. One about her size. Maybe slightly taller. They were straightening their stance on the window sill. It was almost like they had almost fallen over.

  
  


Her feet carried her to the window to greet the new person. “Who are you?” she asked softly.

The child was backlit with moonlight. From the silhouette, some details could be identified about the child. There was a mess of short curly on their head. Their clothes didn’t seem like anything a normal child would wear, parts of it stuck out here and there, but it was not clothlike in shape. The child was also barefoot and even in the shadow, shading seemed to imply that they were dirty. “Me?” the child said. “Who are you?” The voice was more feminine.

Yaz stepped backwards from the window, rushing to get the chamberstick candle holder on her bedside table. Then she brought it back to the child to get a better look in the light. “I’m Yasmin.” Yaz took hold of the sides of her nightgown and did a curtsy, properly greeting her guest. 

The other child nodded, content with the answer and lighting. “I’m Peyton,” she said as she stepped into the room. “Peyton Pan.” Then, as if almost forgetting something, she took a bow, crossing an arm over herself and the other extended outwards behind her. 

Now the child could be seen more clearly. On top there was a mess of dirty blonde curls. The child was dirty, her feet and hands had soft greys and browns. She wore clothing made of leaves and vines, covering her lower half and strewn over her chest, with smaller patches open here and there missing some leaves.

“What were you doing outside my bedroom?” Yaz asked cautiously.

“I wanted to hear your stories,” Peyton declared. “Always looking for a good storyteller.” She stood taller, more sure of herself now.

Yaz squinted at the stranger. Then she clarified. “How did you get to my window? We’re too high to reach,” she reasoned.

Then Peyton did something unbelievable. Yaz was almost convinced she had actually fallen asleep and was dreaming. The child smiled at her and raised her eyebrows. She seemed to stand easily on her tip-toes. Then they effortlessly left the ground, no jumping, no indication of anything ordinary.

Yaz gasped loudly.

Young Pan didn’t return to the ground so quickly either. She felt like showing off. Her body rose higher and higher from the floor. Leaning back she seemed to float on the air, nonchalantly crossing her arms behind her head. She quickly moved to show that no tricks were in play with her flight, and she did a backflip in the air. Once she were sure that Yaz was thoroughly amazed she descended, allowing her feet to touch the floor again. She held out her arms in a ta-da fashion.

“You’re magic,” Yaz said, very sure of herself. 

The other child just let out an amused laugh.

Unexpectedly, another voice sounded, causing both Yaz and Peyton to jump backwards. “Yaz! What’s a  _ boy  _ doing in our room?” Sonya asked accusingly. She seemed upset, no one else was supposed to be in  _ their  _ room, this was a place where they could be whatever they liked, this felt like an intrusion.

Confusion displayed itself on Peyton’s face. “I am not a boy.” She put her fists on her hips. Then crossed them over her chest. She didn’t seem to know quite how to position herself, it all seemed a bit awkward. It was understandable, as usually she wasn’t met with such abrasiveness.

“Why’s your hair so short then?” Sonya had an attitude.

Peyton nodded. She mouthed an understanding ‘Oh’ It wasn’t unusual for her hair to throw people off, so she just answered simply. “I asked for it to be cut this way,” Peyton took a pause. “The way I like it to be.” She smiled at the smaller child.

For a few moments Sonya processed the information. It didn’t take too long for her to deem the answer as acceptable. “What are you doing here?” Or maybe her mind had jumped ahead to her next question.

That’s when Yaz answered for the blonde girl. “She wanted to hear my stories, Sonya!” This made Sonya’s expression brighten at the mere mention of Yaz’s stories. “Isn’t that wonderful? Someone else likes them too!”

This sparked a curious excitement within the smaller child. 

The blonde took a step forward. “What if I told you that you could live them?” Her eyes were wide with excitement.

A look of questioning showed on Sonya’s face. An eyebrow was quirked and her nose scrunched itself. “You’re lying.” She shrugged off the suggestion as utter nonsense.

“Am I?” Peyton took a couple of steps back from Sonya’s bed. She looked up at the ceiling as she began to float, higher and higher. Until Sonya could see that her feet rested on nothing. Peyton was actually, genuinely floating in front of her, in their bedroom.

Sonya’s eyes were as big as Mrs. Khan’s finest dinner plates.

Satisfied, Peyton turned back to Yaz. “Come away with me,”

“My sister too?” she asked, tilting her head towards the younger girl on her bed.

The blonde smiled. Then she came back down, letting her feet touch one at a time. That was a ‘yes’ if she had ever heard one, there was no squandering this opportunity. “If you wish it.” Peyton nodded.

Yaz squinted at the other child. “But I cannot fly.” She could feel her hopes starting to shatter. Yaz wanted more than anything to be able to go on adventures like the ones in her stories.

“Idris!” Peyton called towards the window.

Then the shooting star returned. In through the window. But it was not a shooting star. It was a bright light, with sparkles trickling from it as it zipped and zoomed around the room. The light almost seemed to be looking for something. 

Peyton reached out and carefully caught the light. In her hand was a small person with wings. She wore a blue dress, seemingly made from a flower of some sort. “This is Idris,” she introduced her little friend to the other girls. Then Peyton blew the sparkling dust at Sonya. 

Sonya began to float off of her bed. She had been immediately enthralled by the fairy. “Fairies  _ are _ real!” she exclaimed. “I  _ told  _ you!” She began giggling, as if the dust had tickled her as it touched her skin.

“Your turn.” The blonde looked at Yaz. She set Idris on Yaz’s shoulder. Idris took it upon herself to trickle some dust onto the brunette. Carefully, Peyton took Yaz’s hand and looked into her eyes. A small distraction.

Yaz hadn’t even noticed her feet left the ground, until Peyton glanced towards the floor. 

“Just happy thoughts, that’s all, they lift you into the air,” she said as she rose to the roof, leaving Yaz behind briefly, only to return to her side floating near her.

All of Yaz’s hopes and wishes finally seemed like a possibility for them. Both hers and Sonya’s shared dreams, games, and stories. They would be able to actually do them, for real. “You really mean that we can go have adventures?”

“Exactly like your stories.” Peyton walked to the window, pointing to a bright star in the sky. “In a place called Neverland, you’ll never have to grow up, no more worries about adult things.” Peyton seemed to know exactly what to say, perhaps because these are things most enticing to children, but it was also true. Peyton had all of these things, all the time, there was no deception, just the offer of incredible things.

Sonya seemed to lower down to the floor. “What about mother and Nani?” Her face formed a frown. “Father would be furious,”

Each and every thought that came seemed like a weight. Seeing her sister sad was the heaviest of them all; Yaz slowly descended to the floor as well. This building sadness brought about the memory of the conversation Yaz and Mr. Khan had had not even a couple of hours ago. Immediately she went to Sonya, placing an arm around the smaller child’s shoulder. Sonya curled into the affection. Even though Yaz desperately wanted to go, this all seemed to lean them towards not leaving. She wouldn’t leave her sister. Especially not like this.

Forming an idea Peyton allowed it voice: “There’s pirates,”  _ Sonya looked up at that. _ “treasure,”  _ Sonya’s face softened. _ “mermaids.” She raised her eyebrows. Then she drove the point home, “Hundreds of thousands of fairies.” There seemed to be some lingering skepticism in the smaller child. “You can come back whenever you like,” Peyton said. Sonya seemed to forget her quandaries entirely. She rose into the air once again, letting Yaz’s arm fall to her side. She seemed more ready than ever to go, explore, and have an adventure.

Idris led the way to the window sill, waiting upon it. Sonya went to her and stepped carefully out the window. She found herself floating outside it. She giggled to herself about nothing in particular. Then the tiny fairy flew up around her to sit on her shoulder. It almost looked like she whispered something to make the small child laugh even harder.

The blonde child turned to face Yaz who was still beside Sonya’s bed. “What do you say?” Peyton asked. She swallowed a big gulp, almost nervous that Yaz wouldn’t want to join her.

Yaz’s face seemed to mirror Peyton’s. It was one of hope and of possibility. Except there was still a tinge of something that seemed like she was preparing for this to all be taken away at any second. “I’d like to say yes.” 

**Author's Note:**

> massive thank you to @Sadsnail for betaing <3
> 
> who's up for an adventure?


End file.
